​Future Crew Friday – Meet Diarmuid O’Donovan

Diarmuid is an engineer from County Kerry, Ireland, who currently lives in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. He is sailing around the world on board Derry~Londonderry~Doire and will share the media crew role on his team, as well as turning his hand to sail making.

Name: Diarmuid O’Donovan
Age: 44
Occupation: Engineer
Nationality: Irish
Signed up for: Clipper 2015-16 Race Circumnavigation

What are your reasons for signing up for the Clipper Race?

I’ve been doing bits of sailing on and off for the last good while. And I looked at signing up for the 2013-14 race but I was a bit late and it was going to be tricky with work, so I looked again ahead to this one. I said I would do part of 15-16 and here I am.

How did you decide to do the full circumnavigation?

In bits and pieces. I signed up last year for five legs first, then it was six legs and then I convinced myself that after six legs, the cost of the seventh and eighth was actually only the price of one more leg. I saved up a bit more money and was able to eek out another bit and another bit.

What will be your role on the boat?

I’m an engineer but we are actually heavily loaded with engineers on Derry~Londonderry~Doire so we will have an engineering co-ordinator to ensure that we get the best out of everyone. I told our skipper Daniel that I was happy to do anything and to put me down for whatever suits. I have an interest in sail making so I’ll do a bit of that and be the media crew member on board too.

You’ve been sailing for years, so how have you found the training?

My sailing has all been on small boats so with this is on a big boat and it’s very different. I find the training is quite structured, that the skippers impart a certain amount of knowledge and enforce it the next time. It’s been thoroughly enjoyable. It has taught me what I wanted to know and what I need to know. We have just finished Level 2 training and had a brilliant week, really, really good week. There were so many people at Crew Allocation so I didn’t get to speak to Daniel properly then, so it’s been brilliant to sail with him this week.

What are you looking forward to most about the race?

Completing it. Ideally, doing well in it. Sailing around the world has been an ambition of mine for a long time, or even just sailing across a number of oceans. At the moment, I’m looking forward to visiting Cape Town because my sister lives there. She’s been there for fifteen years now and has four kids. We’ll have a braii at their house, her husband cooks a great braii.

What do your family and friends think of you doing this?

I’ve only really told my immediate family, probably until I got Levels 2 and 3 over with because I wanted to make sure I am capable of doing it. I’m going home to sail in Kerry this month and will tell all my friends then. My family are all supportive and my younger sister extremely jealous!

If you would like to join Diarmuid to race the world’s oceans this year, please get in touch via the apply section of the website. We are now also recruiting for the Clipper 2017-18 Race.